
Greece’s Parliament elected the New Democracy MP for Athens Nikitas Kaklamanis as the new President of the chamber on Wednesday, with Kaklamanis receiving the votes of 247 MPs in a roll-call vote. The remaining 50 of the 297 MPs abstained, casting a vote of “present.”
Kaklamanis is the 14th president of the Hellenic Parliament and takes over his duties as the third-highest ranking official of state from his predecessor Konstantinos Tasoulas.
The former parliamentary President resigned following his nomination by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for the office of president of the Hellenic Republic.
Nikitas Kaklamanis: From Mayor to Parliament President
Kaklamanis is an experienced politician and a former former mayor of Athens. He was elected as the 50th Mayor of Athens, with the municipal ticket “Athens, the City of our Life,” on October 15, 2006 and assumed his Mayoral duties in January 2007. He is also a former Minister for Health and Social Solidarity.
Kaklamanis was first elected as MP for New Democracy in 1990, winning the Athens A constituency. In the October 1993 elections he retained his parliamentary seat and in June 1994 joined the European Parliament, with the Political Spring party.
During his term in the European Parliament, he served as Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and as a member of the Committee on Budgets. Additionally, he was a member of the European Parliament’s delegations to the EU-Turkey and Cyprus joint parliamentary Committees.
The 78-year-old new President of the chamber was born on the island of Andros. He studied medicine at the Medical School of the University of Athens. His medical training was spent in Ioannina. From 1975 to 1981, he worked at the Aretaieio Hospital in Athens, first as an assistant and then as a registrar. He qualified as a radiation oncologist, his second specialization, in 1980.
He was awarded his doctorate in 1981. He served as secretary-general to the Panhellenic Medical Association from 1984 to 1989 and was elected on the New Democracy ticket. In 1989, he was elected Assistant Professor of Radiotherapy–Oncology at the University of Athens.
The role of the President of the Greek Parliament
The President of the Greek Parliament (officially the Hellenic Parliament) plays a critical role in overseeing the legislative body’s operations, ensuring the smooth functioning of parliamentary procedures, and representing the parliament in official capacities.
He or she leads and moderates parliamentary sessions, ensuring adherence to the rules of procedure and is responsible for maintaining discipline and decorum during debates and discussions. The President works with other parliamentary bodies to determine the legislative agenda and schedule.
He or she is considered the third-highest ranking official in Greece after the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister. This ranking reflects the constitutional significance and role of the office within the framework of Greece’s parliamentary democracy.